Chiefs: Decide who you want to be

I overheard a conversation between my friend and his father in regards to strategy.  My friend had just landed his first high school head coaching job.  His father held the similar position for 30 years at a small school in central Kansas.  My friend's father said, "you have to decide what you want to be good at".

That sticks with me as I look forward to the Kansas City Chiefs season.  Have the Chiefs decided what they want to be good at?  Three years in Scott Pioli's tenure, and I'm not certain I can answer that question.

Under Haley the offense would start a game (San Diego for example) utilizing the misdirection, screen, draw, and slant.  Only to in the 2nd half use the power running game and vertical passing.  To me I think a lot of that gets fixed simply with the hiring of Romeo Crennel.

The Chiefs don't need to play Green Bay's game.  The Chiefs need to figure out who they are.  I think they are closer to that objective.  They are closer because Pioli went back to his roots.  Not his roots with the Brady, Welker, Moss led Patriots...but his roots that won those 3 Super Bowl rings.

The root starts with Ron Earhardt, who coordinated under Parcell's and won a SB with a backup QB.  Almost two decades later Belichik who coached under the same tree won the Super Bowl with his backup in Tom Brady.  Don't believe the hype that Quarterbacks win championships.  Every championship won under the Parcell's tree was Perkins-Earhardt football, it was ground and pound.

Pioli's vision is not rooted in Todd Haley's principals, nor is it rooted in Josh McDaniels.  It's rooted in Perkins-Earhardt football, it's rooted in the same style of Parcell's Giants.  It's simple football.  The Chiefs aren't going to open the playbook.  The theory in a nutshell is get a few plays and run them well.

When Pioli chose Daboll he decided he wanted to be good at something, that he wanted an identity.  With Daboll he chose a guy that he was familiar with.  Picked a guy that new "The Patriot Way", before Josh McDaniels opened it up.

It's no secret what we are going to do.  Chiefs were a top rushing offense with Jamaal, and Daboll has coordinated top ranking rushing units in the past.  We are going to run Jamaal to the outside, and use Hillis in the power game.  Based on history this is going to be the plan, and based on history it hasn't been a bad plan.

What makes me look forward to the season is this team will be good at something.  They will figure out who they are offensively and stick with it.  As a Kansas Citian I'm used to it.  Lived through Marty and Vermeil...if I had a choice I would choose Marty.  I would choose that dominant defense and running game, much like we are now.

Kansas City has never been the Peyton Manning's of the world.  Yeah we flirted with Montana but he was never ours.  We can't choose our teams, at this point you are who you are.  In Kansas City we are dominant defense and the running game.  It always been that way.

Brings me back to that conversation..."you have to decide who you want to be good at".